Tiger says he went 'the wrong way' with 1st-round 75 at Northern Trust
Tiger Woods looked out of practice during Round 1 of The Northern Trust, carding a 4-over 75 in great scoring conditions Thursday morning to open his FedEx Cup Playoffs.
"I knew today we had the perfect greens and I needed to shoot something under (par)," Woods said, according to Golf Channel's Tiger Tracker. "But I went the wrong way."
With no fans in attendance to witness his first few holes - as the gates to Liberty National Golf Club opened two hours after his tee time - Woods' game wasn't sharp. He hit numerous poor iron shots that led to three bogeys and a double-bogey and made the turn at 4-over.
Woods exchanged two birdies with two bogeys on his closing nine to post one of the worst scores from the morning wave. He currently sits 13 shots off the lead held by Troy Merritt.
The 43-year-old was forced to limit the back nine of his Wednesday Pro-Am to only chipping and putting due to a stiff back, which reared it's ugly head again Thursday.
"It was a little bit stiff, but that's just the way it's going to be," Woods said of his swing.
Tiger will have his work cut out for him in his attempt to play the weekend. His second round begins at 1:33 p.m. ET on Friday.